Galeria Maeght, Barcelona
Acquired from the above

Rome, Studio Dueci, Miró, 1981, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Jacques Dupin & Ariane Lelong-Mainaud, Joan Miró, Catalogue raisonné. Paintings 1976-1981, vol. VI, Paris, 2004, no. 1921, illustrated in color p. 153

Work is in excellent original condition. Cloth stitched to denim swath sewn to a canvas-lined board at 8 points along the perimeter of the denim cloth (not visible on the front side). Assorted pigments and stains are inherent to the work. Cloth is hemmed at the top and bottom edges and cut on the left and right sides. The left edge is uneven, which is original to the work. Under UV light: no inpainting is apparent. Once again, the work is in excellent condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present work is one of a series which Joan Miró completed on unstretched cloth during 1980-81. The unique mounting of the canvas on a swath of denim speaks to Miró's lifelong endeavor to liberate his work from material confines and the tradition of painting strictly with oil on canvas, and follows a tradition 🐎of iconoclasm that previously included unusual materials and techniques such as cardboard, clay, string and burned or slashed canvases. 

The rectangle of denim in this work appears to be the lower portion of a pant leg, most likely having been worn by Miró while painting in his studio, collecting accidental drippings and smudges here and there. The spontaneity and chance of the splattered paint are reminiscent of works by the Abstract Expressionists such as Jackson Pollock, who often cited Miró as an inspiration. After Miró first saw their work in New York in 1947, he later described that it was like a "blow to the solar plexus." In the years following this encounter, Miró created works that responded to this new generation of American painters and the spontaneity of their art while still remaining loyal to his personal style by incorporating his iconic signs and symbols. This ideology is true of the current work which, though ostensibly abstract, incorporates familiar characters and passages from Miró's lexicon: a face in the center of the composition, a bird-like figure at upper center. Miró has commented, "For me form is never something abstract, it is always a sign of something. It is always a man, a bird, or something else. For me painting is never form for form's sake" (quoted in Margit Rowell, Joan Miró, Selected Writing and Interviews, Boston, 1986, p. 207).

It is interesting to note that this work was painted the same month that Miró's thirty-nine foot sculpture titled The Sun, the Moon and One Star, now known commonly as Miró's Chicago, was unveiled in Brunswick Plaza in downtown Chicago on April 21, 1981. This sculpture too was made of a combination of atypical materials including steel, wire mesh, concrete, bronze and ceramic tile. 

Fig. 1 Joan Miró standing before one of his large, shaped canvases circa 1975.